Dispensing device for toothpicks and the like



Feb. 2, 1960 J. F. MILLER 2,923,437

DISPENSING DEVICE FOR TOOTHPICKS AND THE LIKE 'Filed Oct. 18, 1955 25 z k v 6 24 75 I 25 12gb JOSEPH F. M/LLER INVENTOR.

BY g Arr) Uni d ta es. Patefifo 7 DISPENSING DEVICE FOR TOOTI-IPICKS AND THE LIKE Joseph F. Miller, Portland, reg., assignor to John Flansberg, Willamina, Oreg.

Application October 18, 1955, Serial No. 541,130

1 Claim. (Cl. 221---266) This invention relates to improvements in a combination advertising and article dispensing device.

One of the principal objects of the invention is the provision of a device of this character which will automatically progressively display advertising indicia first individually and then in multiple in a conspicuous manner simultaneously with the individual dispensing of each article.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character which is of simple, eflicient, durable, and inexpensive construction and entirely automatic and positive in operation.

The foregoing and other objects will appear as my invention is more fully hereinafter described in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and finally pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing device made in conformity with my invention.

Figure 2 is a front end view of Figure 1 with the superstructure removed.

Figure 3 is a side view of Figure 1 with one side wall removed.

Figure 4 is a rear view of Figure 1 with a small fragment broken away for convenience of illustration.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side view of a modified form of the invention.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of Figure 5.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing:

In Figures 1 to 4, the housing shown comprises a base 1 of rectangular shape in plan view and having a top surface whose contour is best shown in Figure 3. Upwardly extending parallel side walls 2 and 3 are secured as at 4 and 5 to the base and interconnected at their upper portions by a transverse bolt 6. Journaled by its shaft 7 in bearings 7A secured to or formed integral with the side walls 2 and 3 is a delivery drum 8 having any desired number of circumferentially spaced apart transverse grooves 9 formed therein, the peripheral surfaces of the drum between the grooves being provided for the application of advertising indicia thereto as indicated at A and B.

One end of the drum shaft 7 extends outwardly from the side wall 2 and is provided with a turning knob 10 for imparting rotation to the drum in the direction indicated by the arrow applied to the knob. Rotation of the drum in an opposite direction is prevented by a springurged detent 11 mounted as at 12 on the base 1 and progressively engageable with the grooves 9 as the drum is rotated. It is to be noted that one wall 9A of each groove is undercut in a direction opposite to that of the rotation of the drum and that the opposite wall is tapered in the opposite direction. Secured between the side walls 2 and 3 is a hopper having side walls 13, a rear wall 14 and a forwardly and downwardly inclined bottom wall 15. Articles such as toothpicks and the like, indicated at 15A, placed within the hopper will gravitate to the drum 8 to be automatically picked up one at a time by the transverse grooves 9 inthe it is rotated. Y

Removably attached to thesidewalls cure the top wall in place. The forward portion of the top wall is curved downwardly about the drum. 8 with minimal clearance (see Figure 3) and terminates as at 18 to provide a space between its end and a transverse ridge 19, formed on the base 1, equal to the width of the grooves 9 in the drum. Sight openings C and D are provided in the forward portion of the top. wall for progressively displaying in a conspicuous manner the advertising indicia A and B applied to the spaces on the periphery of the drum between the transverse grooves therein, as aforesaid. 7 Each article picked up from the hopper reposes respective groove without interfering with the rotation of the drum until it finally drops through the dispensing space 18-19 into a transverse trough 20centrally recessed at 21 for convenience in grasping the delivered It will be noted that as the detent 11 engages quickly and in a sanitary condition. A user of the device can touch only the individual article dispensed to him since all the rest are concealed and inaccessible.

In the modified form of drum-actuating and controlling mechanism shown in Figures 5 and 6 I provide one side wall 22 of the drum 8A with ratchet elements 23 circumferentially spaced apart at intervals equal to the spacing of the grooves 9B in the peripheral surface of the drum. Secured to the drum shaft 73, upon which the drum is rotatably mounted, is an arm 24 connected at its top end to one end of a tension spring 25 whose opposite end is connected as at 26 to the adjacent side wall 2A. Also secured to drum shaft 73 in vertical parallel spaced relation to the arm 24 is a pawl in the form of a pin 27 of spring steel arranged in the orbit of rotation of the ratchet elements 23. The arm 24 operates between two limit stops 28-29 secured to the wall 2A (Figure 6) and shownin broken lines in Figure 5. Upon rotation of the drum shaft 7B in a counterclockwise direction the arm 24 will be swung from its vertical position into abutment with the limit stop 29 while at the same time the pin 27 being engaged with one of the ratchet elements 23 will rotate the drum a distance equal to the spacing between the grooves in the drum. Resisting rotation of the drum in an opposite direction is a spring urged detent in the form of a bullet catch 30 secured in the top surface of the base 1A and engageable with the grooves 9B in the drum. Upon release of the drum shaft 7B the tension spring 25 will return the arm 24 and pin 27 to their vertical starting positions. The pull of spring 25 overcomes the resistance of the ratchet elements to the yielding rearward passage of the spring pin 27 over their rearwardly and outwardly flaring edges, back into a starting position. 1

From the foregoing it will be readily understood that in both forms of the invention the arrival of the dispensed article 15A in the delivery trough 20 by rotation of the drum 8 or 8A is simultaneous with the advertisements A and Booming in coincidence with the sight openings C and D. In the next following cycle of operation the advertisement A appearing in sight opening C will be advanced into alignment with sight opening D, and so on around the drum. Thus each advertisement becomes doubly efiective by two separate presentations upon only one operation of the device.

Batented. Feb. 2, r sen z a... s is a top wall 16 having a plate 17 secured to its underside. The bolt' 6 clamps the side walls to the plate 17 to thus se- I inits The rear portion of the top wall may beprovided with anydesired type of box structurefilor-framework on whose front wall advertising material may be conspicuusl -di a ed- While I have shown of my invention I am aware that many minor changes particular forms 'of embodiment therein" will' readi lysug'gest themselvesito others iskilled in'the artwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described'my invention what I claim asnew and desire to protect by'Letters' Patent is: l V t A dispensing device'ofthe class described comprising a housing having a base and vertically extending parallel side walls secured to the, base, a drum rotatably mounted 1 upon a shaft, said shaft being rotatably mounted between V vide a dispensing opening, a container mountedtwithin' the, housing for articles to be dispensed and so arranged as to feed said articles one at a time by gravity directly into the, transverse grooves in the drum, only one of said articles being confinedwithin each of said grooves in traveling from the container to the dispensing opening by said forwardly and downwardly curved portion of the top wall, a normally vertically disposed arm secured at said-sidewalls at the forward endzthereof, said drum Q I, 7 its'bottom end to said shaft said ratchet elements, said arm being rotatable with said shaft and operable between two limit stops mounted within the housing, a tension spring secured at one of its ends to the top end of said arm and at its opposite and outwardly spaced from end to one side wall of the housing to thereby normally maintain the arm in a verticalposition against one of said 1imit stops a spring pin secured to saidshaft parallel to and inwardly spaced from saidarrn and engageable with said ratchet elements for partially rotating the drum in one direction :a distance determined by the abutment of said arm with, the other of said, limit stops upon rotation of said shaft in a correspondingdirection, a springurged deteiit mounted within'the housing engaging said drum and adapted to permit rotationiof. the drum in said one direction and to hold the drum against rotation in an opposite direction, whereby with the drum so held said spring arrnwill yieldingly ride over said ratchet the pull of saidtension spring on said arm.

Ke'ferences Cited in'th'e file or this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 513,472 Alexander Ian. 30, 1894 761,897 Mclntire June 7, 1904 874,170 Davidson Dec. 17, 1907 999,837 Morris et al. Aug. 8, 1911 1,359,759 Slobod zian et al. Nov. 23, 1920 1,693,458 Patterson Nov. 27, 1928 1,842,930 Bogoslowsky'....- Jan. 26, 1932 1953 2,653,068 Goodnight Sept. 22,

"elements in 'itsreturn to the normal vertical position by 1 

